


The Truth Comes Out p1

by CarleyT



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers for Episode: s05e18 A Single Pale Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 18:06:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarleyT/pseuds/CarleyT
Summary: Steven tells Connie everything that has happened thus far.





	The Truth Comes Out p1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been super inspired from that last episode. Again, SPOILER WARNING YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED THIS IS A SPOILER FROM A SINGLE PALE ROSE, GO WATCH IT FIRST, THEN COME BACK!!! thank you. Okay, now that that is out of the way, I have afew more works in the process and then I will most likely be done, at least until the next episode airs. This story got longer than I wanted/expected it to, so I am going to write a part two to this where Steven tells Greg. I don't want to just make a second chapter, so I will just make another part to it. Be expecting that soon, and enjoy. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I thought I was being clever with the title, giving it a double meaning since Steven is telling the truth of what happened to Connie, and we finally learn Rose's true identity and what really happened to Pink Diamond, so the truth comes out...it now sounds kinda stupid but it sounded good in my head and I liked the idea of it, so I am keeping the title as is.

Connie hadn't talked to Steven in about a week or maybe it was two? School was almost over, so Connie was very busy studying for her exams and finals, but all she really wanted was to go on an adventure with the Crystal Gems or at least sword fight with Pearl or Steven. She couldn't wait for summer when she could finally do so, just a few more days. Her tests were finally over, and everything was settling down. She couldn't wait to hang out with Steven again.

Come to think of it, he hadn't even bothered to text Connie at all, which was a little strange, but she assumed he had been busy. He was a gem after all, they were always going on important missions, but usually Steven would tell her all about his last adventure.

Not wanting to intrude, but worried something bad might have happened, Connie found herself taking the bus to Beach city and walking up the warm sand to Steven's house. There was definitely a strange air about the place, but Connie couldn't sense any imminent danger.

She knocked on the door, but nobody answered, so she pushed it open, not completely surprised it was unlocked. The people of Beach City were pretty much upstanding citizens and would never hurt anyone, or break into their homes for the most part...not that anyone would want to break into the beach house, not without being attacked by the gems (except Onion, who according to Steven, has broken in several times, even with the door locked).

She walked inside the room to find tension so thick you couldn't even cut it with a knife. 

A red gem was pacing back and forth in front of the warp pad muttering anrily, her hands to her head.

Pearl was seated next to Amethyst staring blankly into space while Amethyst was staring at Pearl as if trying to comprehend something. Peridot was no where to be found, but that wasn't unusual, she was always coming and going.

"Did I interrupt something?" Connie wondered aloud. "What's going on?"

Pearl jumped out of her stupor and Amethyst just shook her head in Connie's direction. The red gem just ignored Connie and kept pacing.

"I...haven't heard from Steven in a little while, I just stopped by to see if everything is alright. Though clearly something is going on...should I go?" She asked hesitant, and confused.

As if on cue, the warp pad activated. Pearl and Amethyst turned their attention to it, and the red gem stopped pacing and looked at it hopeful. After the light was gone, Steven stood there, a deep frown on his face.

The red gem groaned and began pacing again.

Pearl was frozen, staring at the young gem, and Amethyst didn't quite know who to look at.

Steven looked up, and his expression changed from anguish, to surprise, to worry. He did smile though, happy to see his friend. "Hi Connie," he sighed. 

"Steven?" Connie asked. Her friend didn't look so good but she couldnt figure out why. "What's wrong, what is going on?"

Steven chuckled. "Oh boy, I don't even know where to begin." He looked at Pearl and Amethyst, and then at the red gem, who was now on the floor, head in her hands. "Let's go somewhere a little more private."

He led Connie outside and down to the beach. They sat side by side close to the water, breathing in the salty air. That seemed to calm Steven as he let out a soft sigh. 

He looked like he had been through the wringer. He clearly hadn't slept in a few days, or at least slept properly. Connie wanted to comfort him, but she knew he wanted to get something off his chest.

She gently placed her hand over his. "Steven?"

He looked away from her, toward the sea, his face covered in dark shadows. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before speaking. "Connie I-I am sorry, I don't really know how to begin." He was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and he looked so lost.

"It's okay Steven," Connie assured him, "just take your time. Maybe start from the beginning," she offered, earning a chuckle from Steven even though they both knew that wasn't really that funny.

He sighed. "Okay so, I told you about Garnet's story of my mother and the rebellion right?"

Connie nodded. He told her the last time he talked to her. He was visiting Lars and the off-colors and their ship was stalled in space. Steven had gone back to get Garnet so she could meet the unique gems aboard the ship, and they didn't take too well to Garnet's comments at first, but they seemed to understand in the end. While on the ship, Garnet talked about how valiant and brave Rose was, but how even that wasn't enough to win against Homeworld. 

Steven also shared his fear of Pink Diamond still being out there somewhere, despite Garnet's reassurances that the strange dreams were all just part of his empathy powers. Steven relayed to Connie that he didn't really agree with that though.

"Okay well, after that, everything was pretty much normal. I visited Lars with letters, I went to go see Sadie Killer and the Suspects play in Empire City, normal stuff."

Connie nodded. She had seen the advertisements for Sadie's new band, but with all of the tests, her mother wouldn't let her go. She had a feeling that Steven had a lot more to say though, so she kept quiet. 

"Last night, as I was about to go to sleep," Steven continued, "Ronaldo began pounding on the door, shouting for me. I got out of bed to see what was the matter, and he said he spotted something strange on the moon. At first I thought it was just the moon base, but then I realized Ronaldo was talking about the barn. It was Lapis." He paused.

"Lapis is in the moon?" Connie asked, incredulous. "I thought she left to get as far away from the Diamonds as she could?"

Steven nodded. "I did too," he agreed. "So I asked her about it. She said she was lonely and figured she could probably be safe on the moon base and keep an eye over earth at the same time." Steven was summarising some of the things that happened, he didn't want to be talking for hours about only this one thing. "I tried to convince her to come back, and it seemed like she was seriously considering it..."

"But?" Connie pressed, eager for more answers.

"But then I was so tired that I fell asleep. It was just for a second, but I saw..."

"What? What did you see?" Connie asked becoming impatient, though she was trying her damnedest to stay calm and let Steven talk.

He took a deep breath. "I saw the moon base, but it was all white? And Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, and Pink Diamond were there. Yellow was turned away, but Blue was talking to Pink about the earth and the rebellion. Pink Diamond kept trying to say something, but Blue Diamond wouldn't hear it, she just kept silencing her. After they left, a figure carrying a sword came up to Pink Diamond and pulled the sword out. The figure, she...she looked like Pearl. It looked right at me, scaring me awake," he took another deep breath before plunging back into his story. 

"Lapis asked what was wrong. I told her that I saw the Diamonds in that very room, but it was just a dream. She didn't understand that part and started freaking out. She left in a hurry. I tried to follow her, foolishly I might add, but Lion grabbed me just in time before I allowed myself to be sucked into space. I don't know where she will go now, or even if she will come back. There was so much fear in her eyes Connie. She was truly split between wanting to flee, and wanting to stay and fight, but eventually her fear got the better of her. 

"I went back home, knowing I had to confront Pearl about what I saw." Steven went on to explain how he tried to ask Pearl about what he saw, but had to wait because Amethyst was giving Pearl a demonstration on how to use her phone. He rolled his eyes a little at that, but it seemed less like it was in annoyance. After Amethyst left to find Pearl a proper phone case, Steven approached her. 

"I asked her if instead of Rose Quartz shattering Pink Diamond, she did, and she immediately clammed up. She physically couldn't talk about it, her hand was held tightly over her mouth and she was making this choking sound deep in her throat. I didn't understand until later why she just couldn't tell me. It was strange seeing her silence herself like that, watching her fight against her own hand." He stopped, staring at the ground.

"Amethyst came back with a case," he continued after a few moments. "Pearl was acting really strange, and she got up and went to her room, placing the phone in her gem. I received a text later on from Pearl," Steven pulled out his phone to show Connie the text he received only to find he still had Pearl's phone after everything that had happened. "Oh, hang on, I should give this back," he said jumping up and running back to the beach house.

Connie let everything he talked about sink in. The thing with Pearl was very strange indeed, but Connie failed to see how that led to what she walked into an hour ago. Steven didn't sound like he was done yet though, so hopefully some things would be explained. 

Steven returned a few short minutes later, sitting back by Connie's side. "So...where was I?" He asked, though the question sounded rhetorical. 

Connie answered anyway. "You were going to show me the text Pearl sent you."

Steven nodded, hitting a few buttons on his phone before showing Connie the messages.

One was an endearment from Pearl, the other was a message saying "I want to tell you, but I can't," with a monkey emoji at the end. The third one was a picture of a flower.

Steven continued. "I ran home to ask her about it, only to find that was was vacuuming the warp pad? I didnt even know she did that," Steven began to laugh suddenly, and Connie joined in, picturing the whole thing. Steven thought it felt good to just laugh in spite of everything that happened. He laughed for a solid minute over the ridiculousness before regaining his composure. "She told me that she never sent the message, that she hadn't even seen her phone since she put it away inside her gem that morning. I suggested that maybe she butt dialed me with her gem..." he trailed off, muttering how stupid that sounded now. He put his head in his hands and groaned as Connie chuckled. 

"Continue," she pushed after a second. 

Steven looked out to the ocean. "She tried to show me that she never sent the message, but everything she pulled from her head was not her phone. After another text that came from her got sent to me, the flower one, she started acting strange, saying I needed to go into her gem and find her phone. I didn't understand why. I went in, and...did you know Pearl has several pearls in her head, and they represent each level of her psyche?"

Connie shook her head, dumbfounded. Steven sighed. "Me either. The first Pearl was super organized, which made sense, but she made a comment about how she put all the other pearls away because they were a mess, but not physically, mentally."

"Steven, that's kind of sick isn't it, that Pearl repressed the rest of herself like that?" Connie asked in slight disbelief.

Steven nodded. "Yeah, I know. Unable to find the phone, that Pearl sent me into her gem again." He went on to explain how each Pearl he met got darker and darker with what was going on, from Pearl crying over Rose having him, to her repressed war memories. "There were broken and cracked gems everywhere, it was awful. I asked that Pearl what was going on, wondering if any of this was even about the phone. She still wouldn't talk about any of it, though she did talk about the war. She almost made it sound as if the whole thing was her fault. She sent me into her gem again, and I saw Rose shatter Pink Diamond, but I was confused. I didn't know why Rose was even there, until she looked up, and I realized it was Pearl." Steven stopped, gauging Connie's reaction so far. Her mouth was open as she stared at Steven.

"So-so Pearl shattered Pink Diamond?" Connie asked. She didn't see that coming.

"That's what I thought at first..." Steven trailed off again.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked.

"There were awful sounds of fighting, and Pearl's eyes were glazed over from crying. She held out a gem in her hand, and I realized it was Pink Diamond's. I was so confused. She sent me into her gem again,"

Connie groaned.

Steven chuckled, darkly. "Sorry, last time." He told Connie about how he overheard Rose talking about wanting to protect the earth, but the Diamonds wouldn't listen and Pearl was saying she was ready, but that she couldn't believe she was going to do this. Connie wasn't quite sure what "this" meant but she suspected she would get her answer very soon. 

"But then Rose...my mom," he corrected, mouth pinching when calling his mother by her name," said something very strange. She said, "I can't exactly shatter myself."

Connie made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, realizing where Steven was getting with this. 

He continued, tears springing to his eyes as he told Connie how his mother was a liar, how she had lied to them all about everything, but especially about who she was...Pink Diamond. "Pearl belonged to my mom...she was...her Pearl. I found out why Pearl never spoke about her much other than what a great leader she was, and why she silenced herself when asked a direct question about Pink Diamond. It's because before she became Rose Quartz permanently, she placed a seal on Pearl, never allowing her to ever speak of what happened again. They staged the whole thing, with Pearl shapeshifting and poofing Pink Diamond, but making it look like a shattering. When Pink Diamond reformed, it was as Rose Quartz, and the rebellion continued from there. The pearl in that memory gave me Pearl's phone, and apologized for everything. I texted pearl, letting her know I found it and I got sent back out. 

"Apparently she had wanted to tell me for a long time, but was physically unable to because of the order my mom placed on her." Steven was clutching at his gem, the other hand fisting his hair. "How could my mom do that?" He questioned. "How could she do that too Pearl, how could she leave us behind with her mess?" 

Connie wasn't sure how to answer, this revelation scrambled her brain all up and words were impossible. She took a deep breath, and grabbed Steven's arms before he hurt himself. "Look, regardless of what that makes you now, it doesn't change anything for me. You are still my best friend," she told him softly. "We're Jam Buds, and we always will be, whether you are a Diamond," that was a strange thing she never thought she would say, to Steven of all people, but she was used to crazy things happening by now, "or just yourself. Nothing has changed. You are still you, still caring, kind, and goofy," and I love you, she wanted to add, whether platonic or romantically, but decided to wait. She pulled him into a hug and held him tight as he cried into her hair.

She rubbed his back and whispered, "I am here for you, I'm not going anywhere."

When Steven finally calmed down, he looked at the beach house. "Garnet couldn't handle it, she split up and Sapphire was furious." He laughed, but it was sharp. "It's funny, I thought Ruby would be the one to be the most upset, but it was Sapphire this time. She left in a rage, and Ruby remained behind. They were both mad at Pearl and my mom for keeping it a secret, but none of it was really Pearl's fault."

"So that red gem is ruby?" Connie asked.

Steven nodded. "Yeah...you came in pretty much right after everything went down. I went to sit and collect my thoughts for a moment, and that is when you arrived."

The sun was setting now, the air becoming cooler. 

"Amethyst was shocked after hearing all about how awful Pink Diamond was from the very being herself, but it didn't affect her as much I don't think, because she didn't fight with her in the war, she didn't know who Pink Diamond was, only about her. Pearl...she's been quiet ever since. She still can't talk about it and she just stares at me when I enter the room. I don't know what I am supposed to do. 

"I can't believe my mom owned her like she was a piece of property," he said suddenly in disgust. "It's so wrong. It's no wonder why she's been so loyal to her, she didn't have a choice. Even though mom changed, Pearl didn't. She was still the same, she was never free because of what my mom did to her..." Steven fell silent, his raspy from talking and crying. He laughed harshly. "And I am supposedly not a rose quartz hybrid, but a hybrid of Pink Diamond? What will I tell Peridot and Lapis if she comes back? What will I tell Jasper? What would the Diamonds think?" He wondered aloud.

"Does your dad know?"

Steven shook his head. "This is all new information, there wasn't time to tell him."

Connie nodded softly. "Okay, well I say you start with him first. He deserves the truth too Steven. 

Steven nodded, agreeing. He was unsure of how his dad would take the news however. At least he got a little weight off his chest talking to Connie about everything.


End file.
